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The center of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”—the sequel to the hugely popular “ Black Panther ,” and a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman —is sincere, even if the overall film feels manufactured. It begins with a funeral for the recently deceased King T'Challa. Shuri ( Letitia Wright ) and Queen Ramonda ( Angela Bassett ) are dressed in white, following the black coffin, whose top features a silver emblem of the Black Panther mask and the crossed arms of the Wakanda salute. Their mournful procession, winding through the kingdom, is contrasted with slow-motion tracking shots of dancers jubilantly dancing in memory of their fallen king. After the coffin arrives at a clearing, where it ceremoniously rises to the sky, we cut to an earnest, emotional montage of Boseman as T'Challa. The solemn, aching continuum of images soon forms the “Marvel Studios” logo, announcing that this is still a Marvel movie. And “Wakanda Forever” is all the worse for it. 

What was the secret ingredient for the success of “Black Panther”? Similar to the resplendent, secluded African nation of Wakanda, “Black Panther” existed just outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It mostly stood on its own without the crushing requirements felt by every other film: The humor existed between the characters, not as random references to another property; the characters (with Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue as an exception) were particular to the story; the concerns rarely drifted toward franchise building aspirations.

But writer/director Ryan Coogler and his co-writer Joe Robert Cole don't possess the same kind of freedom with this melancholy sequel. Some limitations aren't within their control, such as the tragic death of Boseman. Others feel like a capitulation to assimilate into a movie-making machine. 

The hulking script is chock-full of ideas and themes. Rather than fighting their common enemy (white colonists), two kingdoms helmed by people of color are pitted against each other (an idea that never thematically lands), and the film must delve into the cultural pain that still exists from the historical annihilation of Central and South America’s Indigenous kingdoms. It must also contend with a bevy of other requirements: setting up the Marvel TV series “Ironheart” (in which Dominique Thorne will star), acknowledging The Snap, grieving Boseman’s death, and finding a new Black Panther. These competing interests are no less smoothed out by MCU’s blockbuster demands (that this must be a mainstream hit and usher in the next phase of the cinematic universe) and the weight of satiating Black folks who feel seen by the fantastical confirmation of Black regalism. It’s too much for one movie. And you get the sense that this should’ve been two.     

At nearly every turn, "Wakanda Forever" fails, starting with its setup. Colonist countries, now afraid of an African superpower, are scouring the world, from sea to sea, searching for vibranium (the metallic ore that powers the African kingdom). A young scientist named Riri (Thorne, treated as a plucky afterthought) plays a role in a search that leads mercenaries deep underwater where they encounter Namor/Kukulkan (a menacing and bold Tenoch Huerta ), the king of Talokan, and his people, who are none too happy with the surface world. They want to destroy it. The godly Namor, his ears pointed to the sky, his winged feet fluttering, later surfaces in Wakanda. With water still dripping from his jade earrings and glimmering, vibranium-pearl-gold necklace, he approaches a still mournful Ramonda and a bitter Shuri with a threat masquerading as an alliance. His appearance causes Wakanda to turn to Everett Ross ( Martin Freeman ), which leads to other cameos and subplots that weigh down the entire film with franchise expectations. 

What’s imperative to “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is the way Coogler centers righteous rage. Ramonda’s first big scene is her admonishing the United Nations for expecting her to share vibranium with the world, even as they try to steal the resource from her nation. Bassett, with a capital-A, acts in a sequence where her voice booms, her gaze is fixed and unforgiving, and the venom is felt. And yet, Shuri, who has buried herself in her lab, developing dangerous weapons, feels worse. She wants to see the world burn. Their shared anger forces a spew of short-sighted decisions that lead to further escalations with Namor—who desperately angles to avenge his mother and his ancestors. The film attempts to position the trio as different stages of grief, but in trying to get viewers up to speed on the atrocities experienced by Namor, it becomes slow and overblown. 

Maybe somewhere a way existed to connect these arcs. But that would require better visual storytelling than the movie offers. Far too often, the dialogue stays on the surface, either by providing reams of exposition, externalizing exactly what’s on the character’s mind or by trying to meld together the real-life loss felt by the actors with that of the characters. The latter certainly offers these performers a necessary chance to process their hurt on screen, but when did filmmakers forget how to show without telling? Why are contemporary blockbusters so enamored with holding the audience’s hand by providing every minute detail? At one point, after Namor explains his entire backstory, Shuri responds with, “Why are you telling me all of this?” It feels like a note Coogler gave to himself.  

The shortcomings in dialogue and story, and how often “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” bows to IP-driven needs, would be easier to stomach if the visual components weren’t so creaky. The jittery fight sequences are too difficult to follow: inelegant compositions blur into an incomprehensible sludge with every cut by editors Michael P. Shawver , Kelley Dixon , and Jennifer Lame . Admittedly, there were projection issues with my screening of the film, so I will refrain from totally dismissing the all-too-dark lighting, but the actual framing by cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, working with the film’s copious visual effects, lacks a sense of space anyways. Scenes of everyday life in Wakanda—Black folks shopping, communities laughing and enjoying each other’s company—that once filled the viewer with joy feel artificial here. The vast landscapes of the nation, which once were filled with splendor, are now murky backgrounds. Some of that awe is recaptured when we see Talokan and its immense Mayan architecture and decorative wall paintings. But you wish, much like “Black Panther,” that Namor was first given his movie where these scenes could breathe, and we could become as integrated into this kingdom as we became in Wakanda. 

Ultimately, this film attempts to set up the future through Shuri. Wright is a talented actress with the ability to emotionally shoulder a movie when given good material. But she is constantly working against the script here. She fights past a cringe cameo; she fights past clunky jokes; she fights past an ending that feels all too neat. An assured and charismatic Winston Duke as M’Baku is there to help, and a misused Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia is there for assistance. Okoye, played by Danai Gurira , provides resilience. And new addition Michaela Coel (“I May Destroy You”) as Aneka, a quirky character who tonally doesn’t work in this somber ensemble, is there for comic relief ... I guess? In any case, the collective front of these performers isn't enough to stem the tide of a movie that relies on shouting matches and broad visual and political metaphors that have been boiled down to their uncomplicated essence rather than their complex truths (which isn’t unlike Rihanna’s turgid soundtrack offering “Lift Me Up”). 

A major sea battle ensues, new, ropey gadgets are employed, and loose ends are inarticulately tied. Another montage dedicated to Boseman occurs, and while the film is messy, you’re relieved that it begins and ends on the right foot. That is, until the saccharine post-credit scene. I’m not sure what Coogler was thinking. He had more weight on him for this movie than any filmmaker deserves. But when this scene occurred, I audibly groaned at what amounts to a weepy, treacly moment that’s wholly unnecessary, emotionally manipulative, and partially unearned. It’s one of the many instances where “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” might have its heart in the right place but is in the wrong mindset and the worst space—at the center of a contrived cinematic universe—to mourn on its own terms.  

Available in theaters on November 11th.

Robert Daniels

Robert Daniels is an Associate Editor at RogerEbert.com. Based in Chicago, he is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) and Critics Choice Association (CCA) and regularly contributes to the  New York Times ,  IndieWire , and  Screen Daily . He has covered film festivals ranging from Cannes to Sundance to Toronto. He has also written for the Criterion Collection, the  Los Angeles Times , and  Rolling Stone  about Black American pop culture and issues of representation.

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, action and some language.

161 minutes

Letitia Wright as Shuri / Black Panther

Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia

Angela Bassett as Ramonda

Danai Gurira as Okoye

Winston Duke as M'Baku

Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams / Ironheart

Tenoch Huerta as Namor

Florence Kasumba as Ayo

Michaela Coel as Aneka

Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross

Mabel Cadena as Namora

Alex Livinalli as Attuma

Danny Sapani as M'Kathu

Isaach de Bankolé as River Tribe Elder

Gigi Bermingham as French Secretary of State

• Ryan Coogler

Writer (story by)

• Joe Robert Cole

Cinematogapher

• Autumn Durald Arkapaw
• Jennifer Lame
• Michael P. Shawver
• Kelley Dixon
• Ludwig Göransson

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‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Review: Women on the Home Front

Shadowed by Chadwick Boseman’s death, this sequel focuses on King T’Challa’s mother and the women helping her to contend with a slippery new villain.

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By A.O. Scott

The first “Black Panther” movie opened in February 2018. A lot has changed since then, both in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and in the one that most of us non-superheroes are compelled to inhabit.

The most tragic and consequential change was surely the death, in 2020, of Chadwick Boseman , whose performance as King T’Challa had seemed to signal the arrival of a franchise-defining new star. Even before that, the Marvel/Disney corporate strategy was shifting into a post- “Avengers” phase, as the familiar heroes were dispersed into a multiplatform multiverse of stories, sometimes joined by alternative versions of themselves. And of course, here in the real world…

Let’s not even go there. The political situation in the fictional African nation of Wakanda is complicated enough. In “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” the director Ryan Coogler feeds his own and the public’s grief into the story, infusing the movie with somber notes of family loss and collective mourning. There is also a sense of the disorder that follows in the wake of a charismatic, unifying leader.

T’Challa’s mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), has assumed the throne, at least for the moment. His younger sister, the scientific prodigy Shuri (Letitia Wright), scrambles to honor her brother’s memory and fill his shoes. The center is holding, but the kingdom nonetheless seems vulnerable, as the outside world conspires to gain access to Wakanda’s reserves of vibranium, a rare mineral with daunting military and industrial uses. The benevolent global order that T’Challa led his nation into has given way to one based on deceit, subversion and exploitation.

Thanks to Ramonda’s regal diplomatic skills and the fighting prowess of the Jabari, led by M’Baku (Winston Duke), and the Dora Milaje, led by the mighty Okoye (Danai Gurira), Wakanda can hold its own against the United States and France. The real threat comes from under the sea, where the long-isolated aquatic nation of Talokan controls the planet’s only other source of vibranium.

The king of Talokan, who goes by Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía) is a demigod with pointy ears and wings on his ankles. Comic-book fans will recognize him as the Sub-Mariner, a complicated hero whose pedigree stretches all the way back into late-1930s Marvel prehistory. For the purposes of “Wakanda Forever,” he is a villain, albeit one with a legitimate grudge and a coherent political argument.

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Reviews

The pacing, demons, and storytelling monsters take down the film.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 27, 2023

“Wakanda Forever” is an epic, emotional and profound film that examines the impact of collective anguish.

Full Review | Oct 26, 2023

Apart from the overarching themes of death, loss, revenge and owning your destiny, and all the eye-popping battles atop barnacle-crusted whales and dolphins no less, Black Panther 2 works in the smaller, intimate moments too.

Full Review | Oct 4, 2023

This was a fantastic way to wrap out Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Full Review | Sep 23, 2023

Coogler uses the sequel to similarly popularize Mayan Futurism with the sumptuous introduction of the Talokans, which makes the Wakandans seem quotidian in comparison.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 16, 2023

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever rises to a difficult challenge with strong characters, superb acting and visual effects that are a marvel.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Aug 9, 2023

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is a powerful treatise on grieving, and how that process can seep into every thought and action, even subconsciously.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 9, 2023

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever may not quite measure up to its predecessor, but it leaves a proud, beautiful, silent tribute to the legacy of Chadwick Boseman, telling an emotionally powerful, resonant story about how grief can truly be love persevering.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Jul 25, 2023

Plays with ideas and characters that initially intrigue, but drowns them in tiresome excessive Marvel lore and universe expansion.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Jul 25, 2023

This sequel acts as an uplifting reminder that grief is real and losing someone close doesn't mean losing all hope in the power of community.

Full Review | Jul 25, 2023

Beautiful tribute about Grief & the cycle of violence. Epic in almost all standards but slower in pacing to tell a different kind of story in the MCU.

As evocative as it is in the film, light pierces through every shot, every storyline, and every performance, making it a remarkable love letter to grief and healing.

Full Review | Jul 23, 2023

Wakanda Forever is the best Black Panther sequel it could have been, acting both as a tribute to Boseman and a poignant story about change and rebirth.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 23, 2023

We deserve a story about Africanness and Diasporic Blackness that’s not hampered by the white gaze that would refuse us peace, justice, unity and vengeance. In the MCU, no matter who’s at the helm, that’s just not possible.

Full Review | Jul 20, 2023

Black Panther Wakanda Forever is undoubtedly one of the worst movies of the year and a clear indication for Marvel to start making movies again instead of peddling products that promote future products.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Jul 20, 2023

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" doesn't have the punch that the first movie did, but how could it? Sequels rarely do.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 16, 2023

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is constrained by its genre and studio from being a great film. It is nonetheless an entertaining one with intriguing characters and intense visuals.

Full Review | Jun 14, 2023

A disappointment, especially compared to its excellent predecessor.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 19, 2023

Wakanda Forever is very long and needed an intermission. You know it’s a Marvel movie because it’s steeped in boredom, with every scene threatening to not end.

Full Review | Mar 16, 2023

lack Panther: Wakanda Forever has the usual MCU mix of humour and fun action scenes but it's severely lacking a charismatic lead performer, and some of the lazy writing during the final third was frankly embarrassing. One of the weaker MCU efforts.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 27, 2023

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Review

A loving tribute, a choppy sea change..

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will hit theaters on Nov. 11. Below is a spoiler-free review.

In a cinematic universe where half of all living beings have already died and come back to life, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reminds us that losing one person can feel just as devastating. The death of T’Challa - and actor Chadwick Boseman - weighs heavy on Wakanda Forever, with the fictional nation struggling to replace both their monarch and their champion, and Marvel Studios deciding how to honor a man it was clearly ready to work with for years and years to come. Wakanda Forever is an effective, emotional farewell to T’Challa - a meditation on forging one’s own future out of a painful past - but with a plot that has to introduce an entirely new nation and pave the way for a new wave of Marvel stories, it does struggle under the weight of all that expectation.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever wastes no time addressing Boseman’s passing, with a chaotic and tense opening scene leaving Shuri (Letitia Wright) feeling responsible for her brother’s death. The funeral procession that follows speaks to the incredibly fine line Wakanda Forever has to walk: even in their mourning, there’s joyous dancing and celebration of what T’Challa brought to the nation, but Shuri’s solemnity as she moves through holding T’Challa’s Panther helmet is a strong reminder of the conflicting emotions she and the movie at large have to balance.

Wright has mostly been used as comic relief up to this point, and Shuri’s character arc necessitates refocusing that energy into how she processes her pain. Everyone in Shuri’s life is urging her to let T’Challa go, and her tendency to lash out in those cases goes a long way towards grounding Wakanda Forever during its frequent flights of fancy. It’s a sharp about-face, but Wright’s emotional availability and intensity carry Shuri through that fraught grieving process. Director Ryan Coogler builds Shuri’s slide into despair up to one of Wakanda Forever’s most jaw-dropping scenes: an unbearably tense moment of self-reflection that serves as reminder that a well-deployed exchange between two characters can be just as breathtaking as a grand battle for the fate of two nations.

It doesn’t take long for the power vacuum left by T’Challa’s death to incite a challenge to Wakanda from the outside world. With Killmonger having destroyed the Heart-Shaped Herb that granted T’Challa superhuman abilities, there’s no new Black Panther to rally behind – and even though T’Challa’s outreach program from the end of the first film remains in full effect, there’s immense political pressure for Wakanda to submit to regulations the country’s leadership fears will endanger the world. That ire is directed at Ramonda (Angela Bassett), who’s acting as steward to the throne until T’Challa’s replacement is named, and doing so in magnificent fashion. At once heartbroken and hopeful, Bassett delivers a commanding performance and, as King T’Chaka did for T’Challa, provides Shuri with a connection to her culture’s past. But though the United Nations’ ultimatum for Wakanda to relinquish control of its resources sets up Wakanda Forever’s themes of colonialism well, this storyline is largely abandoned after the conflict draws Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía) and his underwater kingdom of Talokan into the fray.

Who do you think will be the new Black Panther?

As that society’s figurehead, Namor is an engaging antagonist - whipping a helicopter around like a shotput in midair 30 seconds into your introduction means the audience will at least wanna see what kind of havoc this guy wreaks on the battlefield. But while he’s a force to be reckoned with, Tenoch Huerta Mejía’s performance is at its best in Namor’s intense dialogue scenes with Shuri, as the two share much in common as important members of their monarchies’ royal families.

Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole infuse Talokan’s culture with Mesoamerican history, which gives Namor’s resolve to go to any lengths to protect his people’s home and resources a real richness. Talokan is an interesting society for the MCU to explore in the future, but Wakanda Forever doesn’t establish it quite as gracefully as Black Panther did Wakanda. Outside of a few establishing shots early during our introduction to Talokan, much of our understanding of it comes from narration during a rushed flashback of its origins, and some important details during that scene feel brushed over. Coogler and team took pains last time to dive into both the political and societal structures of Wakanda, and while Talokan’s past is interesting, what it’s like in the present remains a bit murky throughout, especially because there are only two other named Talokanil given any significant screen time.

Of course, an opposing force of a nation of undersea warriors provides Wakanda Forever ample opportunity for maritime mayhem, and gives the MCU a new palette for action. Wakanda Forever does, however, push its luck too far going into the climactic third act battle with a poorly conceived and logically baffling tactical choice. Still, credit where it’s due when it comes to the more personal side of that encounter: Coogler definitely seems to have taken the note on the first film’s digital effects-heavy final duel and Wakanda Forever’s corresponding final confrontation is much more grounded and effective.

Befitting Wakanda Forever’s outsized emphasis on community, T’Challa’s peers are called on to step into older sibling roles for Shuri, and the supporting cast rise to meet the moment. Danai Gurira’s Okoye is willing to put her career at risk to aid Shuri’s grieving process - and gets more dimension for herself, though Okoye’s standout scene is an emotional exchange with Ramonda.

Winston Duke’s M’Baku is a scene-stealer from the moment he saunters in whilst chomping on a vegetable. T’Challa’s positive influence is at its most visible in how the Jabari leader’s edges have softened, as M’Baku provides Shuri with surprisingly sensitive counsel in one of her darkest moments. As T’Challa’s love, Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) ends up supporting Shuri through the most personal parts of her journey, and while she enters the story too late to make too much of an impact, she does facilitate some memorable moments in the movie’s latter half. Collectively, T’Challa’s friends are there to remind Shuri that life goes on, even if Shuri isn’t ready to accept that at first.

The other new additions to Wakanda Forever’s roster represent a tendency of Wakanda Forever’s to overindulge in the other ongoing plotlines the MCU is building out, with Dominique Thorne’s fiery, industrious Riri Williams as the best example. Riri’s personality is infectious, and her appearance certainly sets an intriguing stage for Disney+’s Ironheart series , but Wakanda Forever bends over backwards and burns valuable time on keeping her involved in the action far past the point of believability. The saving grace there is that Riri gives Shuri someone to act as an older sibling (or a Tony Stark) for as a means of celebrating T’Challa, something that Coogler takes maybe too light a touch in highlighting.

Marvel's Namor Explained: Who Is the Sub-Mariner?

Riri’s embedded with the main players, so she at least feels relevant, but Wakanda Forever’s aimless political subplot shows its hand as being almost pure MCU housekeeping as Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) is paired with an MCU up-and-comer with plenty on their plate. That character is a huge personality and though they bring a fun energy to scenes with Ross as he attempts to aid the Wakandans, they become more distracting and less essential as Wakanda Forever goes on. It may be the nature of making movies in this universe these days, but there’s a significant disconnect between scenes in Wakanda Forever that feel vital in how they develop characters and the ones that just feel more like homework for next time.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had to be a sequel to a cultural juggernaut, a tease of upcoming MCU adventures, and of course, a loving farewell. There are stretches where the struggle to balance those mandates scatters the focus of the story, but nuanced and committed performances from the returning cast keep it grounded when it counts. Tenoch Huerta Mejía’s Namor is a strong foil to Shuri, challenging both her ideology and her grieving process, and his nation of Talokan gets a thoughtful (if rushed) history to complement the film’s themes of colonialism. Director/co-writer Ryan Coogler’s efforts are at their most powerful when Wakanda Forever is in conversation with the loss of T’Challa – of Chadwick Boseman. The specifics of Wakanda Forever’s long-winded plot will likely leave little impact, but that doesn’t stop the new Black Panther from standing tall.

In This Article

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Marvel’s Black Panther sequel is a moving farewell to Chadwick Boseman and a heady rumination on the many different forms grief can take in the wake of death.

By Charles Pulliam-Moore , a reporter focusing on film, TV, and pop culture. Before The Verge, he wrote about comic books, labor, race, and more at io9 and Gizmodo for almost five years.

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Ryan Coogler’s first Black Panther film hit like a meteorite in 2018 and singlehandedly disproved the (still extant) notion that predominantly Black films can’t become global phenomenons that smash all kinds of box office records while also racking up critical acclaim . Even before Chadwick Boseman’s untimely death in 2020, the prospect of recreating the first film’s success was already a nigh-unimaginable task that led many to wonder how Marvel could ever hope to top itself with a sequel.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a bigger, more ambitious, and more stirringly poignant endeavor than its predecessor. But it doesn’t feel like the product of a studio merely trying to make a financially successful follow-up to one of its most popular and well-regarded films. Rather, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever plays like the triumphant celebration of an idea, the mournful farewell to an actual hero , and a promise of even greater things to come all rolled into one.

Set some time after the events of Avengers: Endgame and one year after the sudden death of King T’Challa (Boseman), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the story of how the vibranium-rich African nation and its people find the strength to keep going after the unexpected loss of their champion. Wakanda Forever stops just short of blurring the line between fiction and reality as the broad strokes of T’Challa’s death are detailed in its opening scenes that smartly and respectfully put much more focus on how his sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), and their mother, Ramonda (Angela Bassett), are devastated by his passing.

Much in the same way that Boseman was more than just an actor to many of his fans and peers, T’Challa was more than a superhero or a typical king to those who knew him, and Wakanda Forever centers that idea in a way that makes his legacy a central part of the film. A love for Chadwick and an undying reverence for T’Challa can be felt throughout Wakanda Forever . But the movie is careful to not be so bound up in those powerful emotions that it ever feels narratively inflexible or stuck in the past — a necessary choice that plays an important role in Wakanda Forever ’s ability to move the ongoing tale of the MCU’s Black Panther forward.

Though Wakanda Forever never lets you forget that Wakanda and her people are in a nationwide state of grieving, it uses that grief as a jumping-off point to explore a number of the complicated consequences of T’Challa’s death and his actions in the first Black Panther. After an alien invasion, super terrorist attacks, and all of the other wild things that have been happening in the MCU, Wakanda finds itself in the uniquely difficult position of being seen as both the solution to and the cause of the world’s problems because of its vibranium.

As always, Wakanda’s ready and overprepared to deal with whatever incursions onto their land foreigners try to make in pursuit of their valuable metallic natural resources. But with Wakanda now openly existing as a powerful political actor on the world stage, Ramonda, as its sitting leader, has to be particularly judicious about how the nation engages with its peers, not out of fear for her people but out of a desire to keep disputes from escalating to the point of all-out conflict.

Wakanda Forever never lets you forget that Wakanda is in a nationwide state of grieving

Geopolitics is rarely what people show up to superhero movies for, but it’s the subject of some of Wakanda Forever ’s most electrifying scenes that Bassett commands with a terrifying majesty and a significant part of what makes the movie vibrate with tension. Their presence is also one of the big ways that the movie organically creates space for characters like Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and M’Baku (Winston Duke) to take on larger roles as Wakanda’s various tribes grapple with what it means for there to be no sitting Black Panther.

One of the more truly impressive things about Wakanda Forever ’s story is how its plot involving lines of succession and tradition in the context of mourning could have made for a gripping, compelling Marvel movie in and of itself. But instead of resting on those laurels, Wakanda Forever both amps things up and hearkens back to some of Black Panther ’s most potent, challenging ideas by introducing the MCU’s takes on Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) and Namor (Tenoch Huerta).

In the same way that Killmonger’s villainy in Black Panther was shot through with a heartbreaking and genuine (albeit twisted) sense of justice, Namor’s entire character is defined by an unshakable love for his people and a willingness to do anything to protect them. Wakanda Forever establishes a fascinating connection between Wakanda and Talocan — the Mesoamerica-inspired underwater kingdom Namor and his fellow water breathers call home — that further upends the world’s balance of power in ways that make Namor a threat. But who that threat is truly posed toward is a question Wakanda Forever repeatedly poses and has different answers for as Namor and his generals, Namora (Mabel Cadena) and Attuma (Alex Livinalli), lead the charge to make contact with the surface world.

There’s a pointed critique of Western colonialism and the destruction of Indigenous people baked into the essence of Wakanda Forever ’s take on Namor and Talocan that is going to draw many comparisons to Killmonger. But whereas Michael B. Jordan played his villain as a wrathful man longing to become king, Huerta’s Namor is a king who sees his superhuman genetic gifts as signs of godhood.

There’s a critique of Western colonialism and the destruction of Indigenous people baked into Wakanda Forever

Huerta brings a raw magnetism to his performance as a Namor who’s always just as ready to charm as he is to murder while sizing up other monarchs he deems worthy of his recognition and presence. In particular, scenes between Namor and Shuri stand out not for their visually dazzling qualities but because of the crackling intensity of the current running between them — two conflicted figureheads of state trying to be strategic about how they interact.

Wakanda Forever lets loose a similarly explosive energy in each of its bombastic, breathtaking set pieces that escalate in scale and stakes as Wakanda and Talocan come to butt heads in unexpected ways. But even though the movie’s action sequences are a marked upgrade over the first film’s, they ultimately end up playing second string to Wakanda Forever ’s focus on the Wakandan royal family’s emotions — and the room it gives its cast to express what very much feels like their own unscripted sorrow for Boseman’s passing.

Tragic deaths that unmoor people from their sense of self are a fixture in comic books and the stories based on them . But it’s rare that you see a film choose to really spend time centering grief the way Wakanda Forever does: as an ongoing state of being that can take on new and surprising forms as people try to deal with their feelings. Wakanda Forever isn’t just two-and-a-half hours of people being sad and expressing their frustrations with how the life of someone they loved came to an end. That, along with a deep sense of clear-eyed hope for the future, is the core of the movie, and Wakanda Forever understands how holding space for both of those feelings simultaneously is key to its story being a cathartic one.

As wooly and uneven as Marvel’s Phase Four has often felt between its entry to the streaming space and its dalliances with the multiverse , Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ’s a thrilling reminder of how sharp and smart the studio’s tentpole features can be. Rather than one-upping Black Panther , Wakanda Forever continues its story with a grace and care that’s more moving than any comic book movie has the right to be.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever also stars Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel, Martin Freeman, and Lake Bell. The movie hits theaters on November 11th.

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever review: A sumptuous elegy for a king

The franchise loses its beloved star, but finds elegant, affecting new ways to expand the MCU.

Where can a superhero story that has lost its superhero go? Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (in theaters Friday) ultimately finds a new path forward, though director Ryan Coogler 's grand, somber requiem makes it clear in nearly every scene that the late Chadwick Boseman is irreplaceable, both on and off screen.

This is a movie very much in mourning for the man it lost — as a star, a colleague, and a friend — which seems like strange if not uncharted territory for a comic-book universe in which death is a Snap , and resurrection rarely less than another sequel or end-credits sequence away. The result still pounds with busy CG spectacle and, at just under three hours, more mythology than any non-Marvel head may strictly need. But it's also contemplative, character-driven, and frequently lovely: a faithful genre player imbued with a rare visual richness and real, painful poignancy.

King T'Challa's death from an unspecified illness takes place before the title card, leaving his sister Shuri ( Letitia Wright ), his mother Queen Ramonda ( Angela Bassett ) and a kingdom bereft. Global villainy, though, allows little time for bereavement, and even less for story exposition; within minutes, an American recon mission for vibranium — the precious, indestructible metal for which Wakanda is the only known source — goes fatally awry somewhere deep in the Atlantic Ocean, confounding the U.S. government. The hordes that destroyed their ship and mesmerized the crew don't seem like citizens of any country they've seen before: Their skin is tinged Avatar -blue, for one, and they appear to breathe easily underwater.

Their leader, Namor (the brooding Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta ), a formidable fighter with elfin ears and small, fluttering wings on his heels like a Greek god, turns out to have royal immortality in his blood, and intractable plans for Wakanda. As the ruler of an ancient deep-sea Mayan civilization called Talokan, he has his own people and resources to protect, and when he introduces himself to a still-grieving Ramonda and Shuri, he makes his terms clear: They can join him in defeating his land-bound foes, or be buried with them. There's also a teenage girl, an Einstein-brained MIT student named Riri ( Judas and the Black Messiah 's Dominique Thorne), whose precocious inventions, among them an Iron Man-like suit, make her both a target and an asset (and inevitably, a place-marker for yet another lucrative fragment of IP; Thorne will star as Riri/Ironheart in a Disney+ series slated for 2023).

Fending off these new threats means bringing Riri on board and marshaling the forces of the Wakanda diaspora, including Danai Gurira 's ferociously loyal general Okoye, Winston Duke 's towering warrior M'Baku, and Lupita Nyong'o 's retired spy Nakia, now living in self-imposed exile. Martin Freeman also returns as the Wakandans' best American ally, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus , with a vivid purple streak in her hair and an air of persistent Veep -y exasperation, drops in as the government honcho tasked with cleanup. ( I May Destroy You 's great Michaela Coel , alas, doesn't get to do much with her own warrior bit.)

Coogler, who cowrote the script once again with Panther scribe Joe Robert Cole, sets up several anchoring set pieces, clangorous air-land-and-sea battles that travel from Boston bridges and Wakandan city centers to the ocean floor. Levity comes in a few brief but well-placed moments of release, little garnishes of comic relief — just watch Duke eat a carrot — that mitigate the heavy mantle of grief and the obligatory MCU business of saving the world, one franchise installment at a time. (The rules of engagement seem more arcane, or merely very flexible; it's never completely clear what privileges various characters' powers confer unless you knew them coming in.)

The most striking thing about the movie, though, may be what a matriarchy it is, both by nature and nurture: Without their king, Wakanda has become a queendom from the top down, overseen by Bassett's regal, ageless Ramonda, the gorgeously daunting Gurira, and Wright, who rises to fill her dramatically expanded role with feline grace and vulnerability. Coogler also stacks his backline with talented women, including production designer Hannah Beachler and costumer Ruth E. Carter , who both won well-deserved Oscars for the first film.

Their shared vision of Afro-futurism feels lush and joyful and beautifully specific set against the usual white noise of Marvel fanfare, even (or almost especially) in darker moments, like the pristine rituals of a funeral scene. Wakanda is still clearly a Marvel property, with all the for-the-fans story beats and secondary characters its ever-expanding universe requires, but it also feels apart from any one that's come before. And while a Black Panther without Boseman is undoubtedly nothing like the film's creators or any of its cast wanted it to be, the movie they've made feels like something unusually elegant and profound at the multiplex; a little bit of forever carved out for the star who left too soon. Grade: B+

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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever First Reviews: Thoughtful, Spectacular Sequel That Raises the Bar for the MCU

Early reviews say wakanda forever honors the late chadwick boseman with a visually sumptuous, character-driven story that manages to be both epic and intimate at the same time..

TAGGED AS: First Reviews , marvel cinematic universe , movies

Hardly just another sequel in the MCU , Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has the pressure of following up the best-reviewed movie of the franchise — which was also up for Best Picture (and won three of its six other Oscar nominations). Of course, the second Black Panther feature is also missing its former lead, Chadwick Boseman , who sadly died of cancer in 2020. According to the first reviews of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , though, the sequel manages to still live up to the original and meet expectations for another thrilling and culturally meaningful superhero blockbuster while feeling equally weighed down by and lifted up by Boseman’s legacy.

Here’s what critics are saying about Black Panther: Wakanda Forever :

Does the sequel live up to expectations?

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever had the highest of expectations and surpasses every one of them, and makes a strong case for itself as a Best Picture contender. – Travis Hopson, Punch Drunk Critics

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is under a lot of pressure, but Coogler lands it. – Princess Weekes, The Mary Sue

Marvel raised the bar on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever . – Christie Cronan, Raising Whaisians

Rather than one-upping Black Panther , Wakanda Forever continues its story with a grace and care that’s more moving than any comic book movie has the right to be. – Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge

What director and co-writer Ryan Coogler and the team have done with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is nothing short of outstanding. – Janet A. Leigh, Digital Spy

How does it fit into the MCU?

One of the most moving MCU entries so far, and one of the best films to come out of Marvel’s Phase Four. – Ross Bonaime, Collider

Decisions that were made in Avengers: Endgame , Black Panther , and other spots of the Marvel Cinematic Universe pay off in ways that will surprise fans… You’re going to leave the theater with a ton of questions for Phase 5 and beyond. – Aaron Perine, ComicBook.com

When the film tries to remind the audience of how it connects to the rest of the MCU, especially when specific lines of dialogue seem forced in to do so, it loses itself. – Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Wakanda Forever has a sense of self that extends far beyond its Marvel brand identity. – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

(Photo by ©Marvel Studios)

Does it work without Chadwick Boseman?

The central character of this tale remains the one played by Boseman, who may not be around anymore, but his influence casts a long, deep shadow. – Neil Pond, Neil’s Entertainment Picks

Unavoidably, Boseman’s absence paradoxically has a presence of its own but in a way that feels wholly appropriate and is not distracting. – Janet A. Leigh, Digital Spy

While Wakanda Forever directly reflects Boseman’s death by almost replicating the circumstances in the story, it’s done so with reverence and never feels like exploitation. – Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community

A love for Chadwick and an undying reverence for T’Challa can be felt throughout Wakanda Forever . But the movie is careful to not be so bound up in those powerful emotions that it ever feels narratively inflexible or stuck in the past. – Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge

Every major character in Wakanda is left to determine whether T’Challa’s memory will be a blessing or a torment, and the movie around them is so wracked by the same tension that even its most formulaic moments are heavy with a human weight that blockbusters seldom have the strength to carry. – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

How well does the movie honor his legacy?

The passing of T’Challa is handled with care, grace, and respect… Right off the bat, the viewer is set with the tone that this film is a love letter to Chadwick. – Jamie Broadnax, Black Girl Nerds

Not only is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever a love letter to Chadwick Boseman, but it is also an accurate depiction of how people cope with their remorse. – Britany Murphy, Discussing Film

The death of both the actor and the character he played is handled with incredible grace, sensibility, and honor… Fans will be relieved to see this dedication. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate

(Photo by ©Marvel Sudios)

How is Namor as the villain?

Played by Tenoch Huerta, Namor is an absolute powerhouse in every way. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate

Every time the film focuses on Namor, the importance of protecting his people, and his interactions with Shuri, the film excels. – Kevin L. Lee, AwardsWatch

Tenoch Huerta’s Namor… might have a claim to the title of Phase 4’s most memorable “villain.” – Aaron Perine, ComicBook.com

It’s been a long time since a villain/anti-hero has felt so fleshed out in the MCU. – Britany Murphy, Discussing Film

One of the most captivating villains we’ve seen in a Marvel Studios movie… A villain with layers, and depth, and is conflicted. Much like Killmonger in Black Panther . – Jamie Broadnax, Black Girl Nerds

Huerta cannot quite measure up to Michael B. Jordan’s raw charisma, but he makes up for it by projecting an imperial mien worthy of Namor’s status as a demigod among his people. – Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

Do any other performances stand out?

Bassett in particular arguably puts her career-best performance in the role, with incredibly raw emotion packed into her delivery of each line of the script. – Sheraz Farooqi, Cinema Debate

Bassett gives one of the best performances in the Marvel universe so far. – Ross Bonaime, Collider

Bassett also has to be on the shortlist for Best Supporting Actress nominees. The script sets her up for some powerful moments that Bassett crushes with the kind of emotion to put lumps in throats. – Jeffrey Lyles, Lyles’ Movie Files

Wright gives a standout performance in having to convey a wide myriad of emotions of someone who is the heir to the throne but has inner and exterior conflicts about her leadership while living in the shadow of T’Challa and his legacy. – Carla Hay, Culture Mix

One of the shining rays of exuberance in this movie is Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams, a.k.a. Ironheart. – Aaron Perine, ComicBook.com

(Photo by Annette Brown/©Marvel)

How is the script?

The storyline is fluid, engaging, and constantly moving – one of the best scripts from Marvel. – Christie Cronan, Raising Whaisians

On a plot and scene-by-scene basis, the film struggles to find one singular thread to connect everything. – Kevin L. Lee, AwardsWatch

At times, Coogler and Cole’s script seems to strain from the effort it takes to pull all these threads together. – Rachel LaBonte, Screen Rant

How does it look?

The film is shot beautifully with its gorgeous cinematography and color palette being far more noticeable than most other Marvel projects. – Kevin L. Lee, AwardsWatch

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has better visual effects than Black Panther . The cinematography is also an improvement. – Carla Hay, Culture Mix

The regality of the Wakanda regime, from landscapes to the CGI technology to the costuming, the visuals are even better in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever than the original 2018 film. – Christie Cronan, Raising Whaisians

Once again, Carter does her thing… and it already feels like a foregone conclusion that she will claim another Best Costume Design Oscar for work on this franchise. – Jeffrey Lyles, Lyles’ Movie Files

Are there meaningful action scenes?

They’re at their best when they focus on the human side of it rather than the explosiveness of it all. – Rachel LaBonte, Screen Rant

[As] the scope of the battles get larger and larger, yet the stakes become more and more personal. – Kevin L. Lee, AwardsWatch

The action is top-notch… Coogler is much more focused on telling a story about the emotions that drive violence, not the violence itself. – Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Even though the movie’s action sequences are a marked upgrade over the first film’s, they ultimately end up playing second string to Wakanda Forever’ s focus on the Wakandan royal family’s emotions. – Charles Pulliam-Moore, The Verge

Only the first action scene… has the panache that the previous film displayed at numerous turns. – Jake Cole, Slant Magazine

Is it more than just another superhero movie?

The movie has the muscle and heft of a comic-book blockbuster, but it also reflects profoundly on the human resonance of ancestry, remembering and moving on. – Neil Pond, Neil’s Entertainment Picks

More than just a standard superhero story about good and bad guys… it pushes its audience to think about the ripples history creates in the present . – Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Beyond super heroes, action-packed scenes and explosions, the power of grief – the physical, mental, and emotional anguish – is the bloodline of this film. – Christie Cronan, Raising Whaisians

Wakanda Forever manages to be both epic and intimate at the same time. – Kevin L. Lee, AwardsWatch

Wakanda Forever is probably the best female-led superhero movie we have to date. – Princess Weekes, The Mary Sue

Is it a lot of movie? Will we feel the length?

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has a ton of story to tell and it needs every single minute. – Travis Hopson, Punch Drunk Critics

It’s big and bulky and sometimes beautiful, almost enough for two full movies packed into one. – Neil Pond, Neil’s Entertainment Picks

I was surprised how fast the time flew during this film. – Christie Cronan, Raising Whaisians

Wakanda Forever is paced in such a way that its action sequences move at a brisk clip, while its more serious moments never overstay a beat. – Toussaint Egan, Polygon

It’s easily 20 minutes too long. Yet Wakanda Forever has a slow-burn emotional suspense. Once the film starts to gather steam, it doesn’t let up. – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

While its length and emotional density can feel like a marathon, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a cinematic triumph. – Eric Francisco, Inverse

Does it signal good things ahead for the MCU?

For people dealing with Marvel fatigue, this is the film that will give you some hope. – Princess Weekes, The Mary Sue

I cannot applaud Marvel enough for this movie – the most important Marvel film in the MCU repertoire to date. – Christie Cronan, Raising Whaisians

It paves an exciting way forward for the Marvel franchise while cementing itself as a cultural force to be reckoned with. – Rachel LaBonte, Screen Rant

Phase 5 has some big shoes to fill after this one, and hopefully, the storytelling can create the same kind of authenticity and greatness this movie has. – Jamie Broadnax, Black Girl Nerds

Wakanda Forever suggests that the kingdom, and the franchise, are in good hands. – Neil Pond, Neil’s Entertainment Picks

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens everywhere on November 11, 2022.

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‘black panther: wakanda forever’ review: ryan coogler’s rousing sequel doubles as a soulful chadwick boseman tribute.

Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira return to defend their grieving nation from a new threat in the hotly anticipated follow-up.

By David Rooney

David Rooney

Chief Film Critic

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'wild robot,' elton john doc and amy adams-starrer 'nightbitch' to premiere at toronto, lupita nyong'o, pedro pascal's 'wild robot' unveils emotional footage at annecy, black panther: wakanda forever.

More than any other entry in the MCU canon, Black Panther became a genuine cultural phenomenon in terms of proud representation — a futuristic action-adventure that embraced history and tradition. It was an implicitly political depiction of a staunchly independent African nation resisting the grasp of colonizers hungry for its natural resources, a boldly imaginative response to generations of real-world trauma. Wrapping all that up in some cool superhero shit was a considerable achievement.

Coogler and returning co-screenwriter Joe Robert Cole maintain and arguably even fortify that vein here. They introduce another ancient civilization of Indigenous people who have escaped a brutal history of enslavement and genocide, living in fantastical seclusion and ready to unleash all their considerable might against any global plunderer angling to tap their most precious natural resource. That, of course, is vibranium, the same meteorite-derived metal element from which Wakanda draws its power.

Coogler resists the tireless cross-pollination impulse of so many MCU movies by concluding with two clear separate indications of ongoing conflict, as well as a mid-credits sequence both moving and jaw-dropping, which induced gasps at the press screening I caught. Black Panther characters might continue to lend a hand in those other Marvel exploits populated by characters who talk like quippy teenagers, but every seed planted here is of a more somber saga predominantly contained within its own complex universe.

If the storytelling occasionally gets messy with its endless location switches, the battles sometimes sacrifice visceral action for CG magnitude, and the running time (an expansive 2 hours 41 minutes) is definitely felt, particularly in the ambling midsection, this eagerly anticipated sequel is every bit as thrilling as it needs to be.

The presence of two principal characters, Letitia Wright ’s royal tech geek Shuri and her mother, Queen Ramonda ( Angela Bassett ), has been amped up in affecting ways to which both actors respond with bracing authority. That comes as a direct result of the death of King T’Challa and consequent loss of the Black Panther, protector of Wakanda, a devastating blow depicted in the opening scene.

MCU films have generally not been distinguished by their emotional weight, but there may be no more shattering moment in the canon than a stricken Ramonda telling Shuri: “Your brother is with the ancestors.”

It’s gratifying, however, that Coogler and Cole don’t simply barrel onward. Instead, they linger poignantly over the elaborate funeral ceremony, a balance of solemnity and kinetically charged dancing to drums and percussion, with the coffin borne by Okoye and the Dora Milaje. This breathtaking sequence also provides an early opportunity to be awed by the incredible beauty and detail of Ruth Carter’s costumes, arguably even outdoing her Oscar-winning work on the previous film with garments combining elegant future-world sophistication with African symbology.

Comics history aficionados who have been waiting impatiently for the appearance of Namor — first introduced as the proto-mutant Sub-Mariner in 1939 — will not be disappointed by Mexican actor Huerta’s glowering demeanor and burly physicality in the role. The winged feet might be a bit much, but the regal attire is spectacular, his hard-bodied naked torso adorned with shells and beads and gold and robes of kelp.

Namor and his Talokanil warriors first emerge as a hostile response to a CIA-operated American ship in the mid-Atlantic in an action sequence that has the hard-charging energy of a Bond opener. It demonstrates the Talokanil’s strength and strategic coordination but also their siren-like ability to hypnotize adversaries, luring them to plunge into the ocean depths.

The Queen has already expressed her displeasure with foreign territories attempting to get their hands on it in an electrifying moment that sees Bassett at her don’t-fuck-with-me grandest, dressing down the U.N. Security Council with a promise that she won’t go easy next time. But neither Ramonda nor her daughter is inspired to trust Namor.

With Okoye as their principal facilitator, much to M’Baku’s eternal chagrin, they contact longtime CIA ally Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), the master spy in self-exile running a school in Haiti. Sparking another explosive faceoff among different factions trying to abduct the inventor of the vibranium tracker, they also recruit 19-year-old MIT science whizz Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne).

Riri is a terrific new addition and Thorne ( Judas and the Black Messiah ) brings sparky humor to the mix, though in a movie pushing three hours, they might have found a few minutes for a quick training montage to make her transition into a kickass fighter more believable. Still, Riri’s technological ingenuity gives her an instant sisterly kinship with fellow genius Shuri, which lessens the latter’s isolation, particularly after another tragedy strikes Wakanda.

Of course, any halfway attentive Marvel fan will know that a new Black Panther must emerge as the stakes are heightened and the threat intensifies, and despite Disney urging early audiences to avoid spoilers, the identity of that new protector swiftly leaked out. Not that it was so hard to guess. But the process of discovery — which happens via a visit to the ancestral plane, complete with superstar cameo — remains suspenseful and exhilarating, especially once the new, improved Panther suit gets put into action.

While the majority of the film’s battles take place on the surface world, it’s the ability of the Talokanil to harness the power of water — I mean, these folks can ride whales — that gives rise to the most sensational set-piece, in which Coogler deftly orchestrates the destruction to mirror the real-world catastrophes of floods and tsunamis. A major clash at sea, on a massive Wakandan ship and in the skies above, is another high point. But Coogler balances action with character-driven human drama throughout, keeping the stakes personal as well as global.

Much has been written lately about too many cinematographers not knowing how to light actors of color. But new DP Autumn Durald Arkapaw picks up where Rachel Morrison left off in Black Panther by giving us strikingly beautiful and physically powerful Black and Latino actors as resplendent Movie Stars. Production designer Hannah Beachler’s impressive world-building extends from the dazzling Afrofuturism of Wakanda to the majestic undersea halls of Talokan, meaning not one but two advanced civilizations resistant to white encroachers.

Even if the length feels overextended, Coogler and his editors deserve credit for allowing breathing space between the action scenes for character and relationship development, with Ludwig Göransson’s African-inflected score enhancing both those quieter moments and the big smackdowns. It’s impossible for Wakanda Forever to match the breakthrough impact of its predecessor, but in terms of continuing the saga while paving the way for future installments, it’s amply satisfying.

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‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Review: Ryan Coogler Builds a Furious Slow-Burn Sequel Around Chadwick Boseman’s Loss

As the women of Wakanda, led by Letitia Wright's Shuri, struggle to fill the void T'Challa has left, Coogler stages less a typical Marvel movie than an intricately doom-laden geopolitical thriller.

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Yet what Coogler has done instead in “ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ” carries its own high-wire audacity. Teaming up again with co-screenwriter Joe Robert Cole, the filmmaker has woven the demise of his leading man into the very firmament of his story. As the characters, led by Letitia Wright ’s Shuri, the princess of Wakanda who is T’Challa’s younger sister, proceed to mourn T’Challa’s death, they tap deeply into our collective feelings about Boseman. That sounds like a standard thing for a movie in this predicament to do, except that where Coogler goes further is in building his entire drama — the drive, power and passion of it — around the wounding hole in Wakanda left by T’Challa’s death.

Wakanda, the most powerful nation on earth, faces a world that covets its reserves of vibranium, the indigenous purple-glowing metal that’s the source of its power. Early on, mercenaries break into the country’s technological nerve center, trying to take vibranium by force. But they’re subdued and captured, and there’s a terrific scene set at the United Nations where T’Challa’s mother, Ramonda ( Angela Bassett ), the queen of Wakanda who is now its leader, parades the bound prisoners as she dresses down the world for daring to raid her nation. This is the first (though not the last) scene Bassett will play with a blazing fury worthy of Shakespeare, and she’s mesmerizing. The source of Ramonda’s rage, which she’s too proud to say out loud, is that the attitude of many of the world’s nations towards Wakanda is charged with racism. That’s why they think they can plunder it.

The story turns on the possibility that vibranium may exist outside Wakanda — which is why the U.S. has sent an exploratory vessel into the ocean, only to see its operatives killed by the otherworldly power of Talokan, an ancient civilization of underwater dwellers with winged ankles. They’re led by Namor, played by Tenoch Huerta Mejía as a deceptively gentle-spirited, ultimately imperious king who is something like Aquaman, except that the character predated Aquaman in the comics (in 1939) by two years. Talokan, like Wakanda, is an outlier among nations, which is why Namor wants to team up with the Wakandans. But he offers Shuri a Faustian bargain: His dream is to burn the whole surface world, which makes him a spiritual cousin to Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger, who in “Black Panther” exhorted a similar chip-on-the-shoulder nihilism.

Watching “Wakanda Forever,” it’s almost unavoidable that we feel the absence of Boseman’s heroic dramatic center of gravity. The movie doesn’t have the classic comic-book pow of “Black Panther,” and it’s easily 20 minutes too long (we could probably have lived without the Talokan backstory). Yet “Wakanda Forever” has a slow-burn emotional suspense. Once the film starts to gather steam, it doesn’t let up.

Reviewed at Dolby 88, Oct. 27, 2022. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 161 MIN.

• Production: A Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures release of a Marvel Studios production. Producers: Kevin Feige, Nate Moore. Executive producers: Victoria Alonso, Louis D’Esposito, Barry H. Waldman.
• Crew: Director: Ryan Coogler. Screenplay: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole. Camera: Autumn Durald Arkapaw. Editors: Kelley Dixon, Jennifer Lame, Michael P. Shawver. Music: Ludwig Göransson.
• With: Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Lupita Nyong’o, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Michaela Coel, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Dominique Thorne, Martin Freeman.  

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